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FTX Denies Rumours of Merging between Alameda Research and FTX VC

Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has denied reports that his two companies, FTX ventures and Alameda Research, are merging venture capital operations.

The news comes after Sam Trabucco, co-CEO of crypto asset fund Alameda Research, announced on Twitter on Aug. 25 that he would be stepping down from his leadership role.

Caroline Ellison will be the company’s sole CEO following the departure of Sam Trabucco.

Sources said the merger is part of an effort to strengthen billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried’s empire in response to a prolonged decline in cryptocurrency prices.

Sam Bankman-Fried tweeted back, “This seems like a big misinformation to me!”

He added, “FTX’s venture capital is concentrated under FTX Ventures — unlike Alameda’s venture capital, which is not.”

The venture capital arm of FTX and the venture capital business of sister company Alameda Research are not combined but operate independently as two companies.

Amy Wu, CEO of FTX Ventures, said that the FTX Cryptocurrency Exchange, FTX Ventures, and Alameda all operate entirely as separate entities from each other.

Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison explains that Alameda will focus primarily on exchanges, OTC, and decentralized finance.

She added, “We’re arm’s length and don’t get any different treatment from other market makers. The Alameda team isn’t working too much on the venture side day-to-day.”

FTX Ventures launched earlier this year and raised $2 billion in January, during which no money changed hands between FTX and Alameda.

FTX manages assets through Alameda Research, a quantitative cryptocurrency trading firm, founded by Sam Bankman-Fried in October 2017.

Crypto Winter Beats Top Crypto Billionaires from US Ranking – Forbes

The downturn in the broader digital currency ecosystem has hit some notable billionaires in the US, pulling four names out of the wealthiest American’s list, according to Forbes data.

The media outfit said of the 7 names that made the list of the 400 richest last year with a cumulative net worth of $55.1 billion, only 4 are left, and they all command just $27.3 billion.

With both the prices of digital currencies and the valuation of companies plummeting by a very wide range, the networth of all the billionaires profiled have dropped, even though all still rank as some of America’s richest.

The Crypto Billionaires Who Made the List

Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is the richest crypto billionaire in the United States and currently ranks in the 41st position. SBF now boasts of a cumulative networth of $17.2 billion, down from $22.5 billion as of this period last year. Sam is the CEO of FTX Derivatives Exchange and a host of other successful subsidiaries of the trading platform.

The next best-ranked billionaire is Sam’s Co-Founder, Gary Wang, whose networth and ranking are pegged at $4.6 billion and 227, respectively. Wang owned approximately 16% each of both FTX and FTX US.

Ripple Co-Founder, Chris Larsen is the 380th richest American with a total valuation of $2.8 billion (down from $6 billion). Chris’s valuation has been impacted by the price of the XRP coin and the long-protracted lawsuit with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over the status of XRP as a security.

Brain Armstrong, the CEO of Nasdaq-listed trading platform Coinbase Global Inc ranks in the 388th position atop a $2.7 billion (down from $11.5 billion). With the shares of Coinbase plunging remarkably, Brian comes off as the billionaire that has taken the most hit over the past year.

Crypto Billionaires Who Fell by the Wayside

According to the Forbes report, The Winklevoss twin does not make a list this year despite their $2.2 billion networth. As of last year, the Gemini twin was worth $4.3 billion. Jed McCaleb (worth $2.5 billion) and Fred Erhsam (worth $1.1 billion) did not also make the elite list this year.

FTX Founder says Hong Kong Could be Top Blockchain Hub in Asia

Crypto exchange FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried said that, unlike the West, although Asia does not have a key web3, blockchain and cryptocurrency hotspot, Hong Kong could emerge as a leader in that sector.

Speaking virtually during the annual Hong Kong FinTech Week 2022, Bankman-Fried said that other potential locations in Asia are Singapore and Busan.

“If you look at what the crypto hubs will be in the world, I think the Bahamas looks like one of them, Dubai looks like one of them, but if you look at the East, it’s not as obvious. It could be Singapore, could be somewhere like Busan in Korea, but I think there is a real chance it ends up being Hong Kong,” Bankman-Fried said.

Furthermore, the world’s youngest billionaire Bankman-Fried added that the Hong Kong government’s crypto initiative to start a consultation on legalising crypto trading by retail investors is a positive sign for a brighter future for crypto in the region.

Hong Kong is planning to issue tokenised green bonds and prepare for the development of the digital Hong Kong Dollar.

Financial Secretary of HKSAR Paul Chan spoke virtually during the Fintech Week on Monday to introduce the latest policy statement on virtual assets to the public, saying that “we want to make our policy stance clear to global markets, to demonstrate our determination to explore financial innovation together with the global, virtual-assets community,” hoping to maximise with the advantages and innovation of Fintech in terms of virtual assets.

Regarding the upcoming tokenisation of green bonds, Eddie Yu, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), spoke at the same event and disclosed that the authority is planning to issue the first batch of green bonds this year globally, aiming to promote the product to institutional investors on a small scale first. Details will be announced further later.

FTX was relocated from Hong Kong to the Bahamas in 2021 due to regulatory uncertainty.

Bankman-Fired also confirmed last week that FTX is planning to launch its own stablecoin.

Speaking in an interview with Web3 news media, The Big Whale, Bankman-Fried discussed several of the industry’s perceptions concerning the exchange’s position atop the ongoing crypto winter.

As against the popular belief that FTX is the biggest winner in the industry based on its success in snapping up Voyager Digital and BlockFi, both crypto lenders that got riled up as prices of assets tumbled, Bankman-Fried reiterated that its role, irrespective of the perception is to help maintain industry balance which will, in turn, benefit everyone.

Acknowledging that this current crypto winter is the “first real Bear Market we’ve been through,” the FTX boss acknowledged that the market downtime is not affecting its business as such as it is always innovating.

“One of the main characteristics of crypto platforms is that our operation is not impacted by the market downturn any more than that,” he said, “Every day we continue to grow the business, and create services and new tools for customers. So, yes, the markets are less dynamic, things are a little tenser, but in the end, it doesn’t take us off course.”

Meanwhile, neighbouring Singapore is building measures to tighten its crypto regulations on retail investors.

Last week, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) unveiled a proposal to restrict retail participation in digital assets. Following this, small investors will be banned from funding coin purchases through borrowing.

Singapore’s central bank echoed sentiments similar to that of the MAS by asking companies to stop using tokens deposited by retail investors for lending or staking to generate yield. However, the restrictions proposed by the two regulatory bodies will not be applicable to high-net-worth investors.

However, Singapore is taking these moves to ensure positive growth of the crypto industry with security measures that will provide safety to investors.

FTX's Fall Might Hurt CEO's Crypto Regulation Lobby

The mid-term election in the US is playing a role in influencing and reshaping the regulatory landscape of the crypto industry amid the turmoil brought about by the collapse of the crypto exchange FTX.

With a clearer outcome for the result of the midterm election in the U.S., some analysts predict Republicans could reseize the control of Congress. The shift of balance of power and dynamic discourse in power might affect the ongoing regulation of cryptocurrency and virtual assets.

Bloomberg reported investors had eyed prospects of a Republican comeback in Congress, with GOP dominating both the House of Representatives and Senate. However, US voters delivered a mixed verdict, with Republicans heading for control of the House by smaller margins than forecast and the race for Senate still wide open.

Throughout the election campaign, many leaders and enterprises in the crypto industry try to expand their influence and abilities to lobby legislators by offering political donations to their candidates in favour.

Per Reuters, citing data from OpenSecrects, the report disclosed that FTX’s CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, also known as SBF, is heavily involved in this mid-term election and has donated far more than others in the crypto industry.

Data shows that Bankman-Fried’s total contribution of approximately $40 million makes him the sixth-largest individual donor in the United States. The vast majority of his donations go to Democrats, while less than 0.6% of the funding is in support of Republicans, according to OpenSecrets.

Meanwhile, SBF’s deputy- Ryan Salame, Co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, provided over $23.6 million to Republicans, including over $11,000 supporting Rep. Alex Monnet of West Virginia. Salame’s total contribution pushed him to the 14th biggest individual donor on the list.

However, SBF’s commitments have been questioned alongside the latest gridlock of the FTX.

The mid-term result comes amid the oscillation of the markets after the collapse of the SBF’s crypto exchange FTX, as Changpeng Zhao announced Binance would acquire FTX under a non-binding letter of intent. Despite the terms of the deal were not disclosed or neither was a timeline for when the deal might close, the market has experienced a new wave of turmoil and volatility amid the crypto winter.

Crypto Bill Regulation Remains Unclear

Part of analysts suggests a Republican-dominated Congress would likely put pressure on agencies, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which the industry has charged with regulating through enforcement, to ease their aggressive posture against crypto firms.

In June, a bipartisan pair of U.S. senators unveiled a bill that would establish new legal frameworks for cryptocurrency and hand the bulk of their oversight to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

The so-called “Crypto Bill” debate is still ongoing in Congress. The bill, if approved, might empower the CFTC, which considers a more crypto-friendly regulator than the SEC, to oversee the crypto market.

Among controversial issues in regulating crypto, one of the struggles would be the definition of “security”, which financial products count as security or commodities. Who has the authority, and how to regulate it? All these questions remain unclear.

Previously, CFTC Chair suggested that it should let Congress regulate crypto, which is much better than the gridlock remaining between CFTC and SEC.

Meanwhile, serval legal battles between SEC and virtual assets companies, such as Ripple, are still struggling to seek an end game. In December 2020, the SEC sued Ripple Labs, alleging that the crypto firm had raised over $1.3 billion by selling XRP in unregistered securities transactions. But Ripple maintained that XRP sales and trading did not meet the Howey Test, a test created by the Supreme Court to determine whether a transaction qualifies as a security.

Due to conflicts of interest, SBF's attorneys drop FTX

The law firm Paul Weiss, which had been providing support to FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) throughout the proceedings of the company’s bankruptcy, has renounced its representation of the business owner, citing a conflict of interest as the reason for its decision. SBF had been providing support to FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) throughout the proceedings of the company’s bankruptcy. Throughout the processes of the company’s bankruptcy, SBF has been giving assistance to FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF). SBF has been of assistance to the company throughout the whole of the process of the company filing for bankruptcy.

The legal firm’s efforts to reorganise were derailed as a direct result of the decision made by the client to terminate representation once it was discovered that SBF had tweeted. As a direct result of this, the law firm’s efforts to reorganise were unsuccessful.

On the other hand, as a result of this move, rumours began spreading that the cryptic tweets had been sent with the intention of distracting bots’ attention away from tweets that were concurrently being deleted from the site. As a consequence of the fact that the action was carried out, this rumour began to circulate.

Martin Flumenbaum, an attorney working for Paul, Weiss, was of the opinion that the “constant and disruptive tweeting” of SBF was having a negative influence on the efforts that were being made to reorganise, and he was of the opinion that this was having a negative influence on the efforts that were being made to reorganise. Additionally, he was of the opinion that this was having a negative influence on the efforts that were being made to reorganise. Martin Flumenbaum was of the view that this was having a detrimental affect on the efforts that were being made, despite the fact that there was no evidence uncovered to suggest that malevolent intent was there.

Recently, another con artist by the name of Elizabeth Homes was found guilty of criminal fraud and sentenced to time served as a direct consequence of her activities. It is only a coincidence, but Homes was handed her sentence about the same time as the law company chose to stop supporting SBF. This suggests that the two events are likely unrelated. There is a possibility that the two occurrences are associated with one another, but there is also a chance that they are not.

SBF Submits Fresh Bahamas Supreme Court Bail Application

The local media in the Bahamas reported that Sam Bankman-Fried has submitted a new request for release on bail. This comes just two days after a court dismissed Sam Bankman-request Fried’s for bail on the grounds that the FTX founder constituted a flight risk. The court’s explanation for its decision was that Bankman-Fried posed a potential flight risk.According to what has been reported, Sam Bankman-Fried, who is currently doing time in prison for his role in the failure of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has made a second appeal to the Supreme Court of the Bahamas in an effort to be released from custody. This follows an earlier attempt to get out of jail on bond, which was denied.On December 15, a little more than one month after the initial report was made, local media stated that the application had been submitted by the author and that it will be assessed by the court on January 17, which is a little more than one month after the report had been made initially.Prior to this, on the 13th of December, Bankman attorneys Fried’s asked for him to be released on bond in the amount of $250,000 due to the fact that he did not have any prior convictions and was suffering from melancholy as well as sleeplessness. They argued that he should be released because he did not have any prior convictions and because he was unable to sleep. On top of that, he did not have any prior convictions to his name.The request for bail was turned down by the judge who was presiding over the case because the judge considered there was a risk that the crypto executive would depart the jurisdiction.The fact that the government of the Bahamas has declared that it will promptly carry out any request lends credence to the notion that extradition to the United States is a plausible option under the circumstances presented here.In the United States, the individual who designed FTX is being investigated for eight distinct felonies at the moment. Some of these charges involve money laundering, while others involve wire fraud and securities fraud.The number of allegations could land Bankman-Fried in prison for 115 years, but legal analysts have told Cointelegraph that there is a lot to play out and that the case could take years to come to a conclusion due to the complexity of the allegations. In other words, the number of claims could land Bankman-Fried in jail for 115 years.

Alameda Lent SBF $546M For Robinhood Share Buy

Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced founder of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, used a loan of almost $546 million from Alameda Research, the exchange’s sister organization, to finance his acquisition of Robinhood shares.

Bankman-Fried thereafter put those very same shares up as collateral for a loan that Alameda got from BlockFi, which is one of the organizations that is staking a claim to the shares. The loan was taken out by Alameda.

An affidavit that was filed by Bankman-Fried on December 12 in the High Court of Antigua and Barbuda on the day of his arrest and made public on December 27 revealed that he and FTX co-founder Zixiao “Gary” Wang took out the loans from Alameda between April and May using four promissory notes. The affidavit was made public on December 27.

On the 30th of April, Bankman-Fried and Wang were both awarded a loan of about the same amount, which was either $316.6 million or $35.1 million.

Bankman-Fried received two separate loans on May 15 in the amounts of about $175 million and $19.4 million.

The loans were used to support Emergent Fidelity Technologies Ltd., a shell company domiciled in Antigua that was owned by Bankman Fried and purchased a 7.6% share in the brokerage business Robinhood in May at a price of $648 million at the time.

The disclosure of the loans has the potential to make the continuing legal struggle over the more than 56 million Robinhood shares, which are now valued around $430 million, more difficult.

The troubled cryptocurrency lender known as BlockFi has filed a lawsuit against Bankman-Emergent Fried’s in order to recover the Robinhood shares that were allegedly promised as security on November 9 for one of BlockFi’s loans to Alameda.

FTX intervened on December 23 and submitted a request for assistance to a bankruptcy court in the United States in order to prevent BlockFi from claiming the shares.

In addition, Bankman-Fried and Yonathan Ben Shimon, a creditor of FTX, are attempting to stake their claim to the shares.

In the past, the Chapter 11 bankruptcy papers that FTX had made in the United States disclosed that Bankman-Fried had been the beneficiary of a personal loan from Alameda in the amount of one billion dollars.

Caroline Ellison's Diaries: Crucial Evidence in FTX's SBF Trial

Sam Bankman-Fried, known as SBF on Twitter and co-founder of the FTX cryptocurrency platform, is facing intense legal scrutiny. U.S. legal authorities have gathered a plethora of evidentiary documents against him. Among the most notable are the personal annotations and diaries of Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research.

On August 14, 2023, a legal motion was lodged against Samuel Bankman-Fried.

The U.S. legal team plans to leverage Caroline Ellison’s diaries and personal notes as key evidence in the upcoming criminal proceedings against SBF. These writings provide insights into various discussions between Ellison and SBF, touching upon topics like business apprehensions, capital raising efforts, Alameda’s hedging tactics, and contentious revelations about the hedge fund’s ties with FTX.

One piece of compelling evidence is an audio recording from a comprehensive meeting held on November 9, 2022. In this audio, Ellison seems to suggest that the decision to utilize FTX client funds to mitigate financial deficits in the faltering hedge fund was SBF’s idea. This crucial decision was taken shortly before FTX and Alameda declared bankruptcy.

Two other individuals, Gary Wang (FTX’s co-founder) and Nishad Singh (FTX’s past director of engineering), have confessed to fraud-related charges and are now collaborating with the legal authorities.

The defense team representing Bankman-Fried has voiced concerns about the evidence’s timely delivery. They believe that the delay in providing essential data, like the information on Wang’s computer and Ellison’s secure Telegram conversations, has affected their trial readiness.

The legal authorities have also highlighted other alleged wrongdoings by Bankman-Fried. These accusations encompass presenting false statements to a bank, bribing Chinese officials related to Alameda’s frozen accounts, and manipulating the value of FTX’s proprietary token, FTT.

An intriguing facet of this case is the past romantic involvement between Ellison and Bankman-Fried, which might influence their professional interactions.

The court hearing, scheduled to begin on October 2 in a Manhattan federal courtroom, is anticipated to garner significant attention due to its implications for the crypto sector. The impact of Ellison’s writings and audio recordings on the case’s outcome will be closely observed.

FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Pleads for a Weekday Release Ahead of October Fraud trial

The cryptocurrency world is abuzz with the latest developments surrounding FTX’s founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, commonly referred to as SBF. In a move that has captured the industry’s attention, SBF has made a formal plea for weekday release from his current confinement at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York. This request follows closely on the heels of a federal judge’s decision to revoke his substantial $250 million bail, a decision rooted in allegations of witness tampering.

The primary rationale behind SBF’s request hinges on the overwhelming volume of case-related documents. The defense team has been inundated with a massive trove of evidence, notably including three-quarters of a million pages of Slack communications. Given the constraints of his confinement, SBF argues that a thorough review of these documents is virtually impossible. With the clock ticking down to his fraud trial in October, the pressure to process this information is palpable.

The charges levied against the FTX founder are nothing short of grave. He is embroiled in allegations of orchestrating a sophisticated fraud scheme, purportedly allowing him unauthorized access to a staggering sum—billions of dollars from FTX customer accounts—for personal enrichment. Yet, in the face of these daunting accusations, SBF remains steadfast in proclaiming his innocence.

On the prosecution’s side, they’ve adopted a resolute stance. Their argument is clear-cut: if SBF intends to base his defense on the premise of legal advice he previously received, he must be transparent about the specifics of this advice and its origins. While they’ve extended an offer to furnish SBF with the requisite documents on hard drives, they’ve also highlighted the logistical challenges, noting the impossibility of storing all the information on a single laptop.

Further complicating matters, there were whispers of potentially relocating SBF to an upstate detention facility, one equipped with internet services. However, these murmurs were swiftly quashed by prison officials, leaving the defense’s request hanging in the balance.

As the global crypto community awaits further developments, this case underscores the intricate legal landscape of cryptocurrency regulations. The outcome of SBF’s trial, given the high-profile nature of the accused and the weight of the evidence, including Caroline Ellison’s diaries, promises to have far-reaching implications for the industry.

Legal Team Requests Temporary Release of Samuel Bankman-Fried for Upcoming Trial

Key Takeaways

Samuel Bankman-Fried’s legal team has submitted a letter to Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, requesting temporary release for their client.

The request is based on the need for adequate preparation for the upcoming trial, citing the case’s complexity.

The letter outlines proposed conditions for Bankman-Fried’s temporary release, including restricted access to electronic devices and a gag order.

Introduction

In a letter dated September 25, 2023, attorneys Mark S. Cohen and Christian R. Everdell of COHEN & GRESSER LLP have submitted a request to Judge Lewis A. Kaplan of the United States District Court, Southern District of New York, for the temporary release of their client, Samuel Bankman-Fried (SBF). The request is made under 18 U.S.C. § 3142(i), stating that the release is “necessary for preparation of [his] defense.”

The Complexity of the Case

The letter emphasizes the complexity of the case, stating that it is “highly technical” and requires Bankman-Fried’s input for adequate preparation. The defense argues that third-party experts cannot replicate Bankman-Fried’s unique knowledge and insight into the facts of the case.

Previous Court Rulings

The letter also references a ruling on September 12, 2023, where the court did not rule out the possibility of a future application for temporary release. Additionally, it mentions that the Second Circuit affirmed the Court’s decision to revoke Bankman-Fried’s bail on September 19, 2023.

Proposed Conditions for Release

The legal team has proposed specific conditions for Bankman-Fried’s temporary release, which include:

Being in the company of his attorneys or a security guard when not in court.

A gag order restricting his communication to only his legal team and immediate family.

No access to electronic devices during the temporary release.

Concerns Over Medication

The letter also notes that Bankman-Fried is currently receiving only half of his prescribed dose of Adderall, despite a court order, and does not have access to his preferred allergy medication, Zyrtec.